Are other freshmen to be getting their schedules and dorm assignments?

[Jenny in Florida]

Yesterday, my son received a letter from his college with his fall course schedule. (First-semester schedules are done by the college/advisors for students in his program.) And today he got information about his dorm assignment.

 

He's mostly happy with the classes, except there isn't enough dance for his taste. He has:

 

- Improvisation for the Theatre

- Musicianship for Performing Arts

- Music Theory

- Special Topics in Theatre: Lorca, his Life and Art

- Pathways to Honors (the honors program version of the required freshman seminar)

- Ballet II

 

He'll also have private voice lessons, and he's been assigned to the "opera workshop" vocal ensemble. 

 

Notice the relative lack of traditionally academic courses? Yeah, he did, too. 

 

One surprise is that he's been placed in the "overflow dorm," which is housed at a local hotel. The students live on dedicated floors and have RAs and everything. Apparently, there will be about 500 of them housed there at least for the first semester. He's pleased with the idea that the hotel has some amenities the regular dorms lack (swimming pool, weekly housekeeping service, on-site fitness room, queen-sized beds, TVs in each room). Since he's young, I would have preferred to have him actually on campus, but he seems unfazed by this development.

 

Apparently, information about his roommate and mailbox and a few other things is available on the student website, but he was too wiped out after today's 12-hour rehearsal to feel like logging in when he got home. 

 

So, are other students starting to get these kinds of details? Are yours happy with what they've heard so far? Any surprises?

[Pawz4me]

DS signed up for classes last week.  He's happy enough with his schedule, even though it wasn't what he had in mind that his perfect schedule would be.  He'll get his room assignment, roommate and suitemates info on Monday.  He's staying in a private-but-affiliated-with-the-university dorm, so we already know which building he'll be in.

[cbollin]

DD registered for classes at orientation weekend.  Given options of last weekend in May, June or July... she opted for May orientation weekend.

(also received her summer reading book and essay assignment due in a week.. yes... due before classes..  it's part of mandatory course for fall that all students take first semester)

 

(dorm not applicable... decided to commute)

 

[regentrude]

DD's school is on a quarter system, and classes won't start until Mid-September.

They will have one week of orientation right before classes start, during which they will meet several times with their advisor and decide the class schedule.

She should receive her dorm room assignment some time next month.

 

[NCMom]

DD got her classes during orientation and they were as expected because her major is more or less tracked.

 

Dorm assignment will not be here until next week; her school seems to be having some housing renovation issues, lol.

 

Georgia

[Hoggirl]

DD's school is on a quarter system, and classes won't start until Mid-September.

They will have one week of orientation right before classes start, during which they will meet several times with their advisor and decide the class schedule.

She should receive her dorm room assignment some time next month.

Ds is also on quarters. Move-in is September 16th with classes beginning on the 22nd. Class registration is done during that intervening time period. He will learn what dorm he is in (and thus the type of housing he received - he requested all-freshmen) sometime in August. However, the actual room number and the roommate are not learned until move-in day!

[dirty ethel rackham]

Ds is also on a quarter system and won't be leaving until the week after Labor Day.  Ds has his course assignments - he had to register for classes last week and he picked his sections.  Since he has taken all the introductory stuff for his major (physics, calculus) and, being a small school, they don't offer the next levels up until winter term, he is taking Freshman Seminar, German and Intro to Studio Art.  No STEM classes.  He only has a couple of gen eds he needs to take since his AP classes and college classes cover most of them. 

 

He should get his room/roommate assignment in the next couple of weeks - by the end of the month for sure. 

[Laura Corin]

Calvin doesn't start at university until October.  He already knows what courses he will be studying - there aren't any options in the first year:

 

Courses

Five papers are taken:

• Introduction to English Language and Literature
• Literature in English 1550–1660
• Unseen translation for Classics
• Greek and Latin literature (two papers, offering a choice of Greek or Latin authors)

Assessment

Four written papers form the First University Examination, together with a submitted portfolio of two essays for ‘Introduction to English Language and Literature’.
All exams must be passed, but marks do not count towards the final degree.

 

 He hasn't received his welcome pack yet, so doesn't have any other information.

 

L

[Jenny in Florida]

 

we have 6 weeks till classes begin....

 

Wow, classes start for my son in six weeks, too. I can't believe how soon it's coming up!

[regentrude]

However, the actual room number and the roommate are not learned until move-in day!

 

DD knows her room mate. She attended a function for admitted students in the big city two hours from us and met a girl there whom she liked. They started talking on facebook, and decided to request each other as room mates.

So at least that is not an unknown.

[Laura Corin]

I think that all the rooms in Calvin's college are single.  He'll be sharing a bathroom with 6 to 10 other students (depending on which room he gets) but I think he'll have a small room to himself.

 

L

[Jenny in Florida]

Calvin doesn't start at university until October.  He already knows what courses he will be studying - there aren't any options in the first year:

 

Courses

Five papers are taken:

• Introduction to English Language and Literature
• Literature in English 1550–1660
• Unseen translation for Classics
• Greek and Latin literature (two papers, offering a choice of Greek or Latin authors)

Assessment

Four written papers form the First University Examination, together with a submitted portfolio of two essays for ‘Introduction to English Language and Literature’.

All exams must be passed, but marks do not count towards the final degree.

 

 He hasn't received his welcome pack yet, so doesn't have any other information.

 

L

 

That sounds like a wonderful course schedule!

[Jenny in Florida]

He's waiting to see if he gets credit for Calc I & II, along with some computer credit and physics credit.

 

My son hopes to get credit for most of the dual enrollment classes he's taken. We assume most of them will transfer, since he took them at a well-known community college and is staying in-state. Between that and the two CLEPs he's finishing up this summer, he should have a good percentage of his general ed requirements covered. 

[regentrude]

My son hopes to get credit for most of the dual enrollment classes he's taken. We assume most of them will transfer, since he took them at a well-known community college and is staying in-state. Between that and the two CLEPs he's finishing up this summer, he should have a good percentage of his general ed requirements covered. 

 

Great! We already know that none of DD's 30 or so credits will transfer, even though they are from a good 4 year university. Her college does not accept outside credit, period.

[Nan in Mass]

One of my sons is on quarters. He loved them and said he doesn't think he could manage five or six classes at once, but he also said the public schooled freshman didn't really start paying attention until the third week of their first quarter, which is almost a third of the way through the classes. Then they panicked because they were so behind. He also said that if you don't understand, you need to get help right away and not wait to see if it all becomes clear next week, the way you might in a semester class, because subjects either flash by and are gone (survey-type classes) or the material is cumulative and if you don't understand a class, you won't be able to do the work and will get behind really fast. It might be a good idea to tell your students that the first DAY counts when you have quarters, and by the end of the second week, they will be several chapters into the textbook. It's like surfing - you have to stay a bit ahead of the wave or you get swamped. : )

 

Nan

[Susan in TN]

Ds won't get his room assignment for another 2-4 weeks. (Classes start on Aug. 25.) He knows he is in the Honors dorm, though. The school has accepted all his DE classes, though 2 of them can't be used toward his degree. His first semester is pretty light:

Honors English - The Experience of Literature (or something like that)

Music Theory/Ear Training 1

Double bass lessons

Piano lessons

Symphony Orchestra

String Chamber Ensemble

Mixed Chamber Ensemble (The amount of scholarship ds received requires that he play in at least 3 ensembles each semester, though only 2 are required for his degree.)

Recital attendance (no credit for this, just required)

 

The university merit scholarship requires that he have an on-campus job working 5 hours per week. He's hoping he will be assigned to the Music Dept., but he didn't send in his job preference until well after the priority deadline, so it's hard to say where he will end up. Maybe the library :D.

[dirty ethel rackham]

One of my sons is on quarters. He loved them and said he doesn't think he could manage five or six classes at once, but he also said the public schooled freshman didn't really start paying attention until the third week of their first quarter, which is almost a third of the way through the classes. Then they panicked because they were so behind. He also said that if you don't understand, you need to get help right away and not wait to see if it all becomes clear next week, the way you might in a semester class, because subjects either flash by and are gone (survey-type classes) or the material is cumulative and if you don't understand a class, you won't be able to do the work and will get behind really fast. It might be a good idea to tell your students that the first DAY counts when you have quarters, and by the end of the second week, they will be several chapters into the textbook. It's like surfing - you have to stay a bit ahead of the wave or you get swamped. : )

 

Nan

 

Absolutely.  The liberal arts college where my boys took classes the last two years of their high school careers is on quarters so they were used to it.  My oldest struggled a little with the transition to semesters. 

 

BTW, my son got his room assignment.  I don't know much about his dorm, but his roommate is from the Netherlands.  My son is psyched.  He thinks it will be really interesting.  I hope they get along great.  My oldest really won the roommate lottery - he is still rooming with the same kid 2 years later. 

 

[Laura in CA]

My son is registered for two classes (registration is done in waves) -- computer science and linear algebra/diff eqs. (He had linear algebra and diff eqs in separate CC classes already, but two awesome gray-haired professors at admitted-students day convinced him that their course would go much deeper than the CC class.) He'll sign up for discrete math in the next wave, and a classics course -- Roots of Western Civilization -- oh, how I wish I could be a fly on the wall! ... Wait, a lot of their classes are on the web! iTunes U, etc. Hmmmmm .... :D

 

He knows which dorm, but not which house yet. He got his most expensive option (a double, when he'd put a triple or quad as other choices). It will be in a suite of anywhere between 5 & 11 rooms. He'll find out his roommate in a few weeks. He moves in 6 weeks from today, and classes start a week later. His first textbook arrived yesterday. Exciting!

[Jenny in Florida]

My son did log in and get the info about his roommate this morning. They've connected on Facebook and have been chatting by text today. It seems like they have some common ground. 

 

It seems like he's starting to get excited. My husband has been out of town for a few days visiting with his brother in California. When he got home late tonight, my son was unusually chatty and enthusiastic about sharing all of this with his dad. 

[creekland]

My guy has had his roommate's name for a little while now.  I believe he is from Louisiana, but when he first contacted him he was in Alaska - perhaps on vacation?  I haven't followed up and can't for a week as my guy is in AZ now.  I do know that his roomie is bringing the fridge and microwave so feel relieved that we don't have to worry about that for this year!

 

He also knows what room he's in - and quickly checked that.  It's quite near the boat house, and not far from the marine science labs, so he's happy.  ;)

 

Right before he left for AZ we had a fun mom/son day dorm shopping buying sheets, towels, beach towels and a little more.  We'll get another one in buying more mundane/everyday stuff when he returns.  I love doing that with my boys.

 

He got his actual address just last week.

 

He needs to be there Aug 8th, so it'll be coming up quickly.

 

So far, he only knows his first class that he's taking during the 3 weeks prior to the rest of the students coming on campus - Aging Everybody's Doing It.

 

"Aging is one human experience we all have in common.  However, the aging process is not universal.  Aging: Everybody’s Doing It is designed to address the psychological, social, and cultural nature of human aging in society to develop a deeper understanding of the varied meanings, experiences, and contexts of growing older.  Students will have the opportunity to explore the diversity of the aging population and dispel myths and stereotypes about aging.  We will examine the profile of the current older population globally and discuss growing older over the life course as a social process and age as a structural feature of changing societies.  Class discussion will highlight the complexities of the aging experience from diverse perspectives and global comparisons.  Evaluation will be based upon class participation, writing assignments, a final individual paper and presentation, and a field trip analysis."

 

I believe they sign up for the rest of their classes (4) during that 3 week period.  It won't give me much time to buy books online, but I'll see what I can do.  He knows at least one of his classes will be an intro to Marine Science.

[Gwen in VA]

Dd decided to apply to live at home. (Freshman are required to live on campus, so in order to live at home she needs an exemption.) We'll see -- I have no idea if the college hands out exemptions to pretty much anyone who asks or if the student really needs to PERSUADE the person that living at home is a good idea before permission is granted. (Yes, I'm surprised by her decision to pursue an exemption -- at 18 I couldn't leave home fast enough!)

 

She won't register until a few days before classes start, but she is definitely planning her schedule. I have told her repeatedly that she cannot simply expect her advisor to produce a plan for her -- she needs to go in with a viable 4-year plan and then she can have her advisor comment her on this semester's part, which may involve changing her original plan a bit. She is rising to that challenge!

 

She played in public five times this weekend, and will give three performances next weekend (one another solo recital), so she is hoping that once the semester starts her life will be more restful! ;-)

 

 

[J-rap]

My daughter will be registering next week at orientation.  However, it's the second to last orientation offered and a lot of the courses are full now.  Oh well.  It's an overnight orientation.

 

Today is the last day to request a roommate (which my daughter did -- she connected with someone on their online roommate finder site), and they are supposed to get the official letter and dorm assignment the first week of August.

[Laura in CA]

Unseen translation for Classics

 

 

 

I'm curious what an "unseen translation" is ... !

 

I think that all the rooms in Calvin's college are single. He'll be sharing a bathroom with 6 to 10 other students (depending on which room he gets) but I think he'll have a small room to himself.

 

Do you know if C will be in an old or new dorm? A friend of mine stayed in Somerville for a year on a Fulbright, I think, and I was able to see her room. It reminded me of Princeton dorms (or perhaps I should say P'ton dorms are modeled on Oxford ones :) ). Of course we're all familiar with the beautiful older dorm rooms from tons of books and movies such as Chariots of Fire, Brideshead Revisited, Gaudy Night, etc. <sigh> ... :)

[Laura Corin]

I'm curious what an "unseen translation" is ... !

 

 

Do you know if C will be in an old or new dorm? A friend of mine stayed in Somerville for a year on a Fulbright, I think, and I was able to see her room. It reminded me of Princeton dorms (or perhaps I should say P'ton dorms are modeled on Oxford ones :) ). Of course we're all familiar with the beautiful older dorm rooms from tons of books and movies such as Chariots of Fire, Brideshead Revisited, Gaudy Night, etc. <sigh> ... :)

 

Unseen translation is translation of a text that you have not seen before, as opposed to a text that you have been studying.

 

All the first years are in the old college buildings.  They move the second years out to a newer building.  The third years are back in the old building and tend to get nicer rooms.

 

The inside of the old rooms is often very utilitarian - most are not panelled and picturesque but just white painted with cheap furniture.  He could get lucky, but that's more likely in his third year.

 

 

L

[creekland]

My daughter will be registering next week at orientation.  However, it's the second to last orientation offered and a lot of the courses are full now.  Oh well.  It's an overnight orientation.

 

I've heard some colleges with multiple orientations and sign up days save slots in all classes for each orientation, so hopefully, your daughter can still get into some classes that are "full" if she likes them.  (Classes appear full, but they are only full up to the number already allotted and the number is expanded at each orientation.)  I've no idea if her college is that on top of things or not though.  I hope they are!

[Pawz4me]

I've heard some colleges with multiple orientations and sign up days save slots in all classes for each orientation, so hopefully, your daughter can still get into some classes that are "full" if she likes them.  (Classes appear full, but they are only full up to the number already allotted and the number is expanded at each orientation.)  I've no idea if her college is that on top of things or not though.  I hope they are!

 

That's how UNC (supposedly) does it.

[J-rap]

I've heard some colleges with multiple orientations and sign up days save slots in all classes for each orientation, so hopefully, your daughter can still get into some classes that are "full" if she likes them.  (Classes appear full, but they are only full up to the number already allotted and the number is expanded at each orientation.)  I've no idea if her college is that on top of things or not though.  I hope they are!

 

I was kind of wondering if that was the case!  I guess we'll find out next week.  I should make sure she didn't completely erase all of her first choices that looked full...

[Sunshine State Sue]

Ds has his room assignment. Unfortunately, a bunch of freshmen are in triples, including mine. The newest dorm was not finished on time, due to a flood. They'll switch out in October, they hope. He is registered by the school for the first semester.

 

Ds requested that newest dorm, but the coach rerouted the basketball freshman to older dorms.  I imagine he found out just how long it was going to be delayed and didn't want his players scattered about.  Ds will be in a triple with 2 of his teammates.  He had already requested one of them.  Saves me $1136, so I'm happy.

 

He'll get his schedule Aug 15 and classes start Aug 19, which means the campus bookstore has it good.  :tongue_smilie:

 

I did finally confirm with an admissions officer today that his May 2014 CC transcript was received.  Had to bully my way past the students who answer the phone...

 

[Sunshine State Sue]

However, the actual room number and the roommate are not learned until move-in day!

 

:w00t: :w00t: :w00t:

 

[Teachin'Mine]

Ds requested that newest dorm, but the coach rerouted the basketball freshman to older dorms.  I imagine he found out just how long it was going to be delayed and didn't want his players scattered about.  Ds will be in a triple with 2 of his teammates.  He had already requested one of them.  Saves me $1136, so I'm happy.

 

He'll get his schedule Aug 15 and classes start Aug 19, which means the campus bookstore has it good.  :tongue_smilie:

 

I did finally confirm with an admissions officer today that his May 2014 CC transcript was received.  Had to bully my way past the students who answer the phone...

 

 

Amazon Prime can still get them there in time, but it is cutting it close.  And then you he can discover the first day of class that the text has been changed or isn't even needed.  Yeah, the bookstores will have it good from all of our students this first semester. 

[Laura in CA]

However, the actual room number and the roommate are not learned until move-in day!

 

 

:w00t: :w00t: :w00t:

 

 

That's the way it was back in the old days ... I was surprised to hear, from a girl at a track meet last year, that they still do it that way -- in this age of Facebook roommate-pairing, and with so many colleges letting you request friends. Makes for less drama over the summer, I suppose. :)

 

As one college said when their roommate decisions went live: 'Let the Facebook stalking begin!' :D

 

Cynthia -- this is more for your holidays thread, but I'm lazy ... Also in the olden days, we only got the actual day of Thanksgiving off and the next day. Anyone from out of state was hopefully invited home by a local. (We hosted my friend Cindy, from Alaska, for freshman-year Thanksgiving.) Last year my son, at an out-of-state college, had only Wednesday off, and his suitemates were fighting over whose house he'd go to ... ;)

 

My son who will be in-state this fall does NOT get the Wednesday of Thanksgiving week off -- it's a normal school day -- just the Thursday and Friday are holidays. However, he can just take an hour-long train ride home. 

Next year the school plans to give students that Wednesday off. (Their percentage of OOS students has jumped from 10% to almost 30% over the past 4 years.)

[Sunshine State Sue]

Sue, aren't most of the freshmen Mines kids in triples until they get Elm finished? 

Not sure.  Ds is in a permanent triple, not a temporary triple.

[AngieW in Texas]

I don't have a freshman, but my sophomore just got her roommate and dorm assignment last week in an email. We are still waiting for her housing packet that gives her move-in date and the costs and the contract to sign. The housing packet is supposed to arrive this week.

 

She has already talked to both of her roommates and they all seem to be a good fit for each other with lots of interests in common. One of them already has a microwave and is bringing that. Another has a bigger tv than my dd has, so is bringing that. My dd is bringing her PS3 which also works as a blu-ray player, a dvd player, and streams from netflix and amazon prime. They haven't worked out other details. They will be renting a fridge unless one of them decides to buy one.

[Cosmos]

Ds has his room assignment. Unfortunately, a bunch of freshmen are in triples, including mine. The newest dorm was not finished on time, due to a flood. They'll switch out in October, they hope.

 

What's unfortunate about a triple? I was in triple rooms both freshman and junior years, and they worked great. More living space too. Or did you mean it's unfortunate about the new dorm not being ready?

[8filltheheart]

My ds has already gotten an email from one of his professors about needing to check blackboard. He expects the first chpt to be completed before class and they will have an exam the first day of class!

[Sunshine State Sue]

What's unfortunate about a triple? I was in triple rooms both freshman and junior years, and they worked great. More living space too. Or did you mean it's unfortunate about the new dorm not being ready?

My son is in a permanent triple.  My understanding is that the room is 2x the typical double size dorm room.  Margaret's son is in a temporary triple until the new dorm opens.  That is 3 people crammed into a typical double size dorm room.

[Cosmos]

Oh, I see. Not fun!

[Sunshine State Sue]

Sue--any news on credits? Ds just heard that he has provision credit for Calc II--he'll take the short form for Calc II at the beginning of the semester, and if it goes well, he'll stay in Calc III. No word on any computer credit, but we're really confused about his physics credits. They gave him a year's credit, but it was alg-based, so how could they give him credit? 

No news at all about credits.  I am dying to hear.   :toetap05:  I wish I had asked just how much longer it would be.  That's terrific that he got provisional credit for Calc II. That is odd that they gave him credit for algebra based physics.  I wouldn't think calculus based physics is a class he'd want to skip, although the word is that it's a killer class.

[Sunshine State Sue]

Got a call from a lovely young lady this morning and as ds is at work, I decided to see if they'd talk to me. They're wondering why ds would get credit for Calc II if he hadn't taken Calc I? Um, he has and there it is, on his nice little transcript we've sent to Mines FIVE times! Lady is going to check when I was less than happy about sending another transcript. And she said no, he shouldn't have gotten credit for alg-based physics--what I'd been saying all along. And she's going to check about why they didn't make a decision about his comp sci classes, but she actually knew what I was talking about when I explained that they were Java-based, not C+++. (dd got into trouble in WY because they gave her credit but she had to retake the class since WY's was C++ based) I can't IMAGINE the headaches they must go through, trying to figure out transfer credit for everyone. I'm sure 95% of the Mines kids have DE, AP, IB etc. 

FIVE times?  I've only sent ds's transcript two times.  That actually makes me feel better.  But, no word here...

 

[FaithManor]

Snort, just for levity, my colleg senior has her schedule for taking her last two courses to transfer back to U of MI so she can finish her chemistry degree there. Her dorm assignment appears to be year two of successfully rooming co ed with a dear young man we've come to refer to as "son" and an upgrade to a two bedroom dorm. :)

[AngieW in Texas]

We finally found out why my dd had not received her housing packet. They sent it to her dorm mailbox for the fall. Why on earth would they send it to her dorm address when she isn't going to be there until mid-August? Anyway, they are sending a new packet. In the meantime, I finally got the amount that we are supposed to send in by August 1st and the move-in date, which is August 16.

[Sunshine State Sue]

Had ds call today about CC credits.  He got nowhere.  I called back and left a message.  Got a return call and everything is out there in ds's account which he had not been checking  :banghead:   (he expected an email). 

 

So, they gave him credit for Calc 1, Composition 1 & 2, Spanish 1, Ethics, 2 Western Humanities courses, American Government, American Literature, and even a Critical Reading and Thinking class he took in 10th grade.  Total of 33 credits, mainly liberal arts and "free" electives.  They did not give him credit for Statistics or Intro to Computer Science or Fundamentals of Music.  I'm having debates about whether or not to ask about those.  I know we definitely have proof for the Statistics.  I'm leaning towards letting the CS and Music class go.

 

His schedule was also in there:

Calc 2

Chem 1

Physics 1

Intro to Computer Science

Basketball

 

Oh my.  I guess his CC credits allow him to skip the Freshman Success Seminar and Nature & Human Values.

 

Did I mention that I have never taken a science class past Biology in 10th grade?  I attempted Physics in college and quickly found out that I was not prepared.  I never had to take a science class in college because after the failed physics attempt, I switched majors to Math & Computer Studies and science was not required.  I cannot imagine taking Chemistry and Physics together.  Oh my.  I keep telling myself that ds is much better prepared than I was.  :chillpill:

[Susan in TN]

Ds got a text from his roommate last night and they have been texting a bit today. Ds seems a bit more relaxed having "met" his roommate finally. I don't know if they have been given their specific room number yet.

[regentrude]

DD got her dorm room assignment a few days ago and is thrilled to have gotten her first choice.

Scheduling will be done with the advisor during orientation week, but she perused the class offerings and requirements and developed a potential schedule that might technically allow her to complete the extensive required core and her two majors in four years. So, she will go into the meeting with the advisor well prepared with a schedule suggestion.

[Gwen in VA]

Dd knows for sure what credits will transfer, and she is rejoicing -- everything that she had hoped for transfered! :hurray:

 

She can't sign up for classes until a few days before classes start, but she has started the process by asking for and receiving an override so she can take a dream upper-level class taught by a prof who is retiring at the end of the year.

 

For a variety of reasons she needs to start taking a 100-level foreign language this fall, and the language she wanted is not only full but has a significant wait list for all sections. She has decided to take Italian instead. This should be interesting!

[Laura Corin]

I still don't know anything about Calvin's room.  There's a letter from his university sitting on his desk, awaiting his return next week.  I don't think that it will have the room information in it though - I suspect that that is all sent out when the last university places are awarded, which will happen after the last exam results come out tomorrow.  After that, they will assign the rooms and send out welcome packs.  I think.

 

We need to apply for funds from Calvin's 529 to cover his accommodation for this term, but we can't do that until he know how much it will be.  So we'd really like to know what room he has been assigned.

 

L